


Survival

by puppyfacedbrokenboys



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Headcanon, Violence, exploration into the alpha twins, pack abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-26 04:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppyfacedbrokenboys/pseuds/puppyfacedbrokenboys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a long time, Aiden was mad, furious at his twin for not fighting back. Why not fight back? Why take it lying down? And Ethan would just tell Aiden to drop it; he didn’t want to talk about it. </p><p>But the thing was, Ethan had, in the beginning, fought hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Survival

They’ve been each other’s everything from day one. They’re twins, two parts to one soul. They can feel each other’s pain. They protect each other when no one else will. They keep each other balanced – Aiden has the force and aggression, Ethan with the brains and heart.

Because of that, Ethan got the brunt of the abuse from the pack. They fed off the fact that Ethan just took it, just submitted. Then they had Aiden, the spitfire who put on such a fight that it always took longer to break him. For a long time, Aiden was mad, furious at his twin for not fighting back. Why not fight back? Why take it lying down? And Ethan would just tell Aiden to drop it; he didn’t want to talk about it. 

But the thing was Ethan had, in the beginning, fought hard. That first beating – if he was human and hadn’t been able to heal, he was certain he would have died. Probably Aiden, too, by extension – maybe – if their pain link was powerful enough to do that. And for a long time after, he fought hard.

Then one day – with all of his ribs almost puncturing his major organs, his left leg with the bone of his shin looking like it was going to poke right out of his skin – he whimpered and laid still, giving in to the pain as he tried not to choke on the thick, black blood flowing down from his broken nose. He let his heart rate slow, wanting more than again to see Aiden one last time. He was giving up and then soon after the abusers of the day left him be.

If they lost him, so what? He was weak, and they still had his brother; they still had a punching bag. 

He hadn’t died that day, though. He had laid on that floor healing and a long time later Aiden had come and found him. He leeched some of his pain, even though Ethan knew he felt it enough as it was. It was the only time Aiden was gentle anymore, when he was with Ethan and more often than not it was when they were taking care of each other after a beating, or shaking from the cold and moaning from the lack of food.

Ethan nuzzled into his brother’s neck, inhaling his scent that was partly his own and part just Aiden. It calmed him, made him feel safer than anything. Here with Aiden, nothing could touch them because he knew Aiden would go down fighting for him. And that thought made Ethan sick with guilt. Aiden fought all the time and Ethan had just given up, something Aiden would never do. But he learned from it. If they think you’re dead then they’d leave you be. They’d probably never actually kill him because he’s still pack and, despite being the lowest of the low in the pack hierarchy, the Omegas do keep inner pack fighting down by being the punching bags. It was a sick system. 

But Ethan – no matter how much Aiden asked and how much Aiden thought him weak (just like everyone else) for it – never told Aiden why he did. Part of him disgusted himself for being so submissive but it was his method of survival. Ethan was the smaller twin, always has been, so he unconsciously hides behind Aiden because Aiden has enough aggression for both of them combined. But Ethan still fights back, of course he does. He just picks his battles better and if he has to submit to get just a reprieve to heal and  _stay alive_ , then he will. 

When they learned to morph together, the pain was welcome for both of them. It felt as if their bones were fusing together, their minds combining. Ethan felt his skin tearing to accommodate for Aiden’s presence. It hurt like nothing they’ve dealt with before at the very beginning, but it was a different pain. This was self-inflicted, intentional. They could control it and it made them feel so strong that maybe they could be invincible. 

It was once they had mastered the morphing – with Aiden slipping into Ethan like it was natural – and had the power to control it, had figured out to use each other’s strength to their advantage, they took out the pack. And Ethan never again had to feel like he was weak for stepping back and submitting instead of fighting back. Because once the pack was dealt with, Ethan had finally told Aiden why he had done what he did and Aiden had laughed at him, startling Ethan, and said, “See? Told ya you were the smart one, Pup.” And then Aiden pulled him in by the neck and they had cuddled close for the first night of being free. 


End file.
